Saudi Prince arms deal row
There’s a huge row going on after a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ investigation reported that a Saudi prince who negotiated a £40bn arms deal between Britain and Saudi Arabia received secret payments for over a decade.
It says the UK's biggest arms dealer, BAE Systems, paid hundreds of millions of pounds to the ex-Saudi ambassador to the US, Prince Bandar bin Sultan - and that the payments were made with the full knowledge of the Ministry of Defence. All allegations have been denied.
It’s a pretty complicated row, and the programme isn’t broadcast until Monday, but would you like us to look into it on the show today?
Leaders attending the G8 summit in Germany are holding their first full day of talks today. The environment and tensions between Russia and the west are the main talking points, we have talked at length about the latter already this week, shall we open up the phone lines for a more in depth G8 chat tonight? Edgar from Lagos called us when we were on air last night to say there are bigger topics to talk about than a programme about Princess Diana and that we should be discussing the G8. Do you agree?
In one of our recent Africa programmes, we talked briefly about the Mungiki sect, a Kenyan group whose doctrines are based on traditional practices, who have been accused of some very grisly murders. Last week, the president warned Mungiki activities would no longer be tolerated and ordered a shoot-to-kill policy. There was a gun battle between police and the sect on Tuesday, which killed 21 people, and overnight in Nairobi, police fired tear gas during protests by women opposed to their crackdown on members of the banned sect. Should we be looking into this sect in a bit more depth today?
A report by Unesco says education around the world is being undermined by fraudulent activites. Bribes and payoffs in teacher recruitment and promotion, "ghost teachers" on the payroll, and fake universities, bogus degrees and accreditation fraud were all examples given. It's an international report - shall we find out who the worst offenders are according to the report, and ask people in those countries if they agree with the findings?
Journalists in Pakistan are protesting today against imposition of restrictions on media, arrests of the journalists and gagging of press freedom. Rallies are expected in Punjab and Islamabad, analysts say the recent protests represents the most serious challenge to President Pervez Musharraf since he came to power in 1999. Shall we try and talk to some of the protestors?
During a Republican debate at a Catholic University, Rudy Giuliani was interrupted by a bolt of lightning which struck the hall. He joked:
Look, for anyone who went to parochial schools all his life, this is a very frightening thing that’s happening right now.
That could be the sign Republicans have been waiting for in the leadership contest. Did you see the debate? Was God was the big winner of the night? Has Mother Nature ever given you a sign?
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